apparently he had decided quite some time ago that the war on terror was a war on muslims and he was going to counter it with his own act of terror. in that, he was going to use a suicide best to blow up himself and as many people as possible inside the u.s. capitol. i want to show you a timeline of how it unfolded. much of the investigation began back in january of 2011. that is when he met with undercover agents. he thought they were al qaeda sympathizers. he began to talk about the plan. possible targets included a synagogue, some -- a government building. just last month, he tested out a bomb with the undercover agent and a west virginia korry. he said it was big but he wanted it to be even bigger. he decided that his final and

only target would be the u.s. capitol building in sight. today at 1230, -- 12:30, he had a automatic weapon and the suicide vest as his choice of how he was going to pull off the plot. both were inoperable. they arrested him. he is being held without bond. he will make his next appearance wednesday night. we are letting much more about the 29-year-old from morocco. we will have that more throughout the evening. >> thank you very much. we are going to go out to richard reeve with more about the arrest. >> behind me are the pointe center condos. a lot of government employees live here. neighbors pointed us to this building earlier today. it is where they say the suspect actually lived.

we have some video of the apartment. let's take a look. shortly after 2:00 what appeared to be heavily armed swat team members entered a first floor apartment. they carried out boxes and bags. inside the apartment, we saw what appeared to be justice department documents maps, and other items scattered about. the notion of a suspect living in plain sight concerns them. >> i thought it was a drug- related thing. this is shocking to me. you do not expect a terrorist to be living in your neighborhood. >> neighbors tell us also that a number of men were moving in the and out of the apartment. it was very heavily trafficked. the landlord told authorities as long as one year ago he was suspicious about el-khalifi.

he threatened a live-in girlfriend. he insisted he would stay in that apartment. it much more at 11:00. >> thank you. we will continue to monitor developments on this story. there is more on wjla.com. >> we have new information on another plot to attack the nation. the so-called under where? has appealed his life sentence. he filed the appeal yesterday just hours before he was sentenced for trying to blow up a northwest airlines flight on christmas day 2009. the bomb failed on the amsterdam to detroit flight. >> also tonight we are on storm watch. abc 7 was out and about looking for people preparing for the snow. instead, they are enjoying mild to birchers today. what do we need to prepare for this? dog hill joins us with the latest. >> it is beautiful and partly

cloudy. we are in the 50's. it will be in the 50's tomorrow. sunday it will change. let's look at the area under a winter storm watch on sunday. this is from sunday morning for sunday evening. the computer model shows a fair amount of clearing and mild temperatures. come sunday around sunrise maybe some rain and snow mixed. look at the temperatures by sunday evening. only in the low 30's. a good chance we will have some snow. right now we continue to see only a trace-2 inches. we only give that a 60% probability for most of the area. 30% chance it will be 2-4 inches. in the area under the storm watch, maybe 4 inches in that area. >> a big debate over same-sex marriage is going on in maryland tonight. there could be a vote in the house of delegates as soon as

this evening, but not without some changes and tweaks to the bill. brad bell is live with more. >> after a lot of changes and tweeds and arm-twisting, the headline is supporters have enough votes to get it through the house of delegates. for the last hour and a half impassioned debate has been going on in the house chamber. out front, a group of protesters is chairing the delegates on. history is being made here tonight, some like it and some hate it. >> [chanting "one man, one woman"] >> the house of delegates appears to be passing -- creeping toward passing the same-sex marriage bill. >> we need 71 votes to bring it over the victory line. we know we are close. >> an apparent deal reached

with prince george's county delegate. according to multiple sources she has decided to be the 71st vote in favor of the bill as long as there is a delay of the law until all legal challenges are settled. >> people can challenge the referendum and have the voice of the people heard. >> it is clear that mike busch is pushing the vote along quickly by calling the rare friday night session. opponents say it is too fast. >> yesterday we delayed the vote on this for no apparent reason because they did not have the votes. today they have secured the final votes. now they will cram through the bill and have two ratings in one day. >> we believe the vote will take place sometime in the next few hours. the debate has been a passionate

but collegial. one delegate stood up and said same-sex marriage is just wrong. another got up and said she wants to have the right to marry her partner. >> thank you very much. the payroll tax cut agreement cleared a major hurdle in congress today. the house and senate passed the $415 billion bill expanding the payroll tax cut and unemployment benefits. it also holds a cut in reimbursements to doctors who treat medicare patience. president obama has promised to sign the bill as soon as it reaches his desk. >> still ahead, a look at the evidence that your money is leaving your wallet faster each time you go to the store. >> also the crackdown coming from the government from debt collecting companies.

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>> we continue with the race for the white house. rick santorum tries to distance himself from the high-profile supporter. >> a comment about the contraception controversy. this comes as the battle for voters in arizona and michigan. rebecca cooper is live with more on the campaign trail. >> rick santorum told reporters

today the media did not hold president obama responsible for remarks made by reverend right and he should not be held responsible for comments made by a financial backer. it has provided a welcome distraction for mitt romney. >> it has been a difficult week for mitt romney. in michigan he is trying to maintain he is the man to save the economy. >> i want to be the ally of our entrepreneurs and job creators. >> both the economy and rick santorum continue to gain ground. >> we have an opportunity to speak loudly. michigan can set the rates on its ear. >> mitt romney is trying to remind voters he is one of them. it is a theme echoed by his wife. >> i look and i say, this is where i grew up. this is who we are. we do not have an accent. >> rick santorum's search is

head of -- facing headwinds followed by this comment -- >> back in my days, -- >> rick santorum disavowed the remarks by he is facing controversy about his own view on contraception. >> people will say contraception is ok. it is not ok. it is a license to do things and a sexual rolm that is counter to what -- how things are supposed to be. >> one big boost for santorum today, he switched his endorsement to rick santorum. he thought mitt romney's cash advantage made him unstoppable. he no longer sees a mitt romney nomination as and -- inevitable. >> some changes coming to the commute.

some retail numbers will be different on busy roads. >> -- some route numbers will be different. >> the capitals played the panthers and what has to be viewed as a playoff type of game.

>> you are watching abc 7 news at 6:00, on your side. >> things are getting rather expensive again. >> the price index increased 2% last month. americans pay more for food, gas, rent, and clothing. economists said it will level off in the coming months. >> debt collectors are about to get a taste of their own medicine. a new plan to fight abusive deck collectors. the proposal will regulate large debt collection and consumer agencies to sell credit reports.

it is estimated 30 million americans have their debt being chased by collectors. >> some changes for drivers and the northern virginia. >> the fairfax county parkway will be renumbered route 286. prince william parkway changes to 294. franconia springfield parkway becomes 289. it makes it eligible for federal funding. what will it look like for the roads this weekend? >> we are going to have a little bit of snow. i do not think we will have a major storm. if there will be any snow cause a real disruption, it will be in the area southwest of washington. but we are holding you to that. >> a beautiful day. a touch on the winter side.

this great thing you are looking at on the screen is the camera from steven still across the bay bridge. like everywhere else, it cleared out to a beautiful day. -- from stevensville across the bay bridge. 54 and 39, our average day up to 48 degrees as we slowly take steps toward spring. it felt like spring a lot of times this winter. 50 degrees in the nation goes to capitol right now. temperatures chilly. there is no very cold air. if we were going to have the potential for a major blizzard, which we have had on president a weekend in the past, we would see really cold air building and building. it is just not there. the storm will have to generate some of its own cold air. it will take a southern track.

we do not expect a major impact in the metro area. there is the storm developing. it will bring beneficial rain to a drought stricken area of texas. here is something we watch. if there is too much thunderstorm whether down south, it robs a lot of the moisture from coming north. we will see sunshine and increasing clouds throughout the day tomorrow. a nice outdoor weather day tomorrow. around sunrise on sunday, it will be bringing some rain, snow during the day. south and west of our area, the best chance of more measurable snow in the area under the winter storm watch during the day on sunday. within the washington, d.c. area, we expect a 90% chance of a little bit of snow. a 60% chance of a dusting. 30% chance of 4 inches or more. will it be the big one?

no. it will clear on presidents' day. another warm up next week. >> the toyota sports desk, brought to you by your local toyota dealers. moving you forward. >> what is leading the capitals? >> everybody they play. >> that is not funny. >> they played the panthers in florida again tonight. this is a measuring stick for the capitals. right now, the panthers hold first place in the southeast division and the no. 3 seed in the eastern conference. if the capitals lose, it will be a long and tough haul into playoff possibilities. if they win, they moved into striking distance of florida. >> the good thing about it is you control your own destiny. it is not like it's the only one game left. >> this is a team weaker really

battling with for first place. >> it might have been the first -- the best first half they have played all year. almost 15,000 will be there. a lot of it has to do with uva. he scored 28 points, a school sophomore record for threes. maryland built a 19-point lead and it was showtime for nick. he seemed very comfortable at the point. tomorrow is the border war with nationally ranked virginia and maryland. virginia tech had a 70-0 run. but the florida seminoles had a chance to win it. -- a 17-0 run. florida state beat virginia tech 48-47. they had to do down by 20. the blue devils came roaring

back. he had a game winner against the tar heels. then last night duke beat state. the wizards are in utah to play the jazz. meanwhile, it was lights out in indianapolis. if they cannot see us, they cannot stop us. better that way. the house lights went down and came back up. the pacers won the game with the lights 99-98. how about this game in harrisburg? he shattered the glass. 11 minutes left in the game. it was suspended. it will continue to night. the redskins have fired former defensive and philip daniels to be the player development.

>> anybody can play the game with the lights on. >> i know it. >> it takes a special team to play with the lights off.

>> his need for speed killed him. a mother pleads for high-speed cyclists to slow down.

you have seen them sometimes even popping wheelies along the way. they are a danger to everyone including themselves. join us for a look at 11:00. >> what is the latest from you? >> partly cloudy skies. here is the forecast. temperatures in the 50's. winter returned on sunday with snow possible. the best chances will be south and west. a trace to two inches is the best chance. keep up-to-date with the forecast when we are not on tv go to wjla.com our online home of abc 7 weather. bob ryan will have an update tonight at 11:00. >> have a good night.

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